


The Courier

by cyan_spark



Series: Dark Society [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Magic, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-08 03:07:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13449237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyan_spark/pseuds/cyan_spark
Summary: "Quick Claw Couriers promises to deliver in a timely manner, rain, snow, or shine, day or night, mud thick and thin. Through rough waters we must ford, through mountains that we must climb. May it be small, large, or in between. May it be mundane or magical, normal or supernatural, we will never fail at delivering your mail. We promise that we'll always deliver. No matter what."





	1. Quick Claw

_Prologue_

 

* * *

 

"And that's it for for Raida..."

An old ariados with a faded carapace set down a tan leather sack with a group of similar sacks. Each one sat below a corresponding name and so far, only one name was left without a sack with the latest one finished. He had been working hard throughout the day and while the rest of his workers had all left for the night, he was still stuck inside the small post office sorting mail. He hated this part of the job but he didn't want to be doing anything else in his age. He certainly wasn't going to traverse the continent on mail carts or deliver mail around the large city he called home.

_That reminds me_ _..._ he thought.

He glanced over to his desk nearby and grimaced. It was overflowing with mail, with more packages and such overflowing crates nearby. There was simply no way to have it all delivered tomorrow and had to plan accordingly. He estimated a half-hour more of work to finish up before heading home.

"Just one more sack and I can leave..." he said with a shake of his head.

He adjusted the flat cap on his head, making sure the web keeping it there was strong. It was either a cap or a scarf and he wasn't wearing any scarfs anytime soon.

"I need to retire soon. This is just tedious for me now..."

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Hmm?" the knocking puzzled him. They had been closed for two hours at this point, something shared by other businesses in the area. The only business still open was the local tavern, and it was always open. Who would be knocking now and why? A drunk? He decided it was best to ignore it but a part of him didn't want to.

_KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK._

He blinked. He wanted to answer. His curiosity burned despite his age but he had no clue whether their intentions were the best. Stealing mail is lucrative to those who know what to look for and there were no witnesses nearby, unless one counted the nearest tavern.

" _OPEN UP! PLEASE!"_  a muted voice shouted. He silently huffed.  _It's not a drunk at least,_ he thought with a snicker. A plus but also a minus. The previous thought stood out- they could be a robber and he was an old disease-maker. He was mostly in no shape to fight. He could still spin a strong web and that was enough to stop anyone.

Another set of knocks rapped the front door.  _They aren't going away,_ he thought.

Whoever it was, knew someone was inside.

"I'll be right there sir!" he said. Defeated by his better senses, he walked out of the sorting room and down the hall into the storefront. As he did, the banging continued. He started to despise whoever it was, good intentions or no- it was rude to bang down on a door with such force.

He carefully placed a strong web on the door while unlocking the main latch. He hoped it was more than enough to keep them out while letting him talk. The moment he unhooked the latch, the person on the other side pushed the door open.

_"PLEASE LET ME IN!"_  they yelled.

Despite the lack of light from the fire-stone street lamps, dim as they are, he could tell that in the face trying to shove its way through was one of a houndour.  _A fire-breather, fuck me._  he thought with a grumble.  _It just had to be a damn fire-breather. The peoples that can burn my webs and my own body to ash._

"Yes sir, what is that brings you here today?" he asked as kindly as possible. All the while, the houndour was hell-bent on getting through the small crack available. He silently thanked whoever made the door and its frame for being able to withstand a raging hydreigon if needed. Not their fire's of course, but their sheer weight.

"I need something delivered! It's nothing big! Please! Just…" the hound looked about in a panic. "J-just let me in, please!"

He was wary of the tone the hound in front of was using. Panic. Fear. Regret. A hint of something bitter. Likely deceit. It made him squint at the hound in front of him.

He  _hated_  liars.

"Well, you have to come back in the m-"

"No! Nonononononono!" the houndour shouted, pushing harder and harder against the door. He swore he could see ember's leave the houndour's mouth. "You have to let me! Please! Let me in!"

He snorted. Did this fire-breather lose his eyesight? Did he not notice every store was closed? Did he even know what  _time_ it was? He sighed and decided that the fire-breather in front of him may just be a little tipsy.

"We're closed, like every other store on this street." he plainly stated. "Come back in the morning when we're open. We open at six-thirty  _sharp_."

"B-but uhh…" the houndour stopped pressing and looked up and about. He watched the houndour stutter in thought, clearly looking for something to say. He noticed when his eyes fixated on the sign above the door with the company logo: the signature three white slashes with the test "Quick Claw Couriers" underneath. "Umm…"

"Umm?" he asked mockingly. He was growing tired of this dog's antics.

"You-Your motto!" the houndour finally managed to bark out. "T-the Quick Claw Couriers m-motto! Rain o-or shine! D-day or  _night_!"

He watched the houndour struggle to recite more of the motto. He rolled his eyes in irritation.  _'This guy has had too much to drink tonight. Must be one of them workers for those new manufactures or something.'_

"Yes, that is part of out motto." he responded with a shake of his head. This houndour was making him regret answering the door more and more. "And?"

"It's wouldn't be right to l-leave me out here! You guys are the only ones that can help! Please! I beg you- it's nothing big!"

The elderly postmaster blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. He hadn't expected the motto of Quick Claw Couriers to be used against him in such a way. He expected a litany of pathetic excuses straight out of desperate man's mouth. Using the words of his company twisted it all on him. It left him little choice- especially if left and began to talk.

And talk amongst dark-walkers always went far.

"Alright. I'll let you in. Please be patient." the ariados gently pressed the door shut as the houndour poured out a mass of thank you's and praises to him. He took a moment to unlock the door and unlatch it. Once more, the houndour shoved his way in, almost crushing the spider. "Watch yourself. I'm doing you a favor- don't make me take back my word and send you out."

"Oh, please sir I… I-I…" he watched the hound look about the room, taking in every word, every sign, every decoration he could. It gave him time to check the houndour out in more detail.

He stood short for his kind, not that they all didn't. He knew of some that stood on two legs, somehow, through learning from an early age but he wasn't one of them. This was just some houndour runt with a package on his back. The twine holding it there ended at his mouth.

In all other regards, he was plain. His fur was well-kempt, his eyes were a soft red, and the skull on his head was polished. He could see that claws on his forelimbs were long yet dull so not to cause any unneeded pain. The only clothing he wore was a wrapping around his feet to keep his pads clean and fresh, something not uncommon to any monster that walked on pads. He didn't because he was an ariados- he had clawed, virtually armored legs to walk on, not weak, meaty pads.

He was pulled from his observations with a yell from him, "I need you to d-deliver something!" the dog stomped his fore-paws onto the ground. He could see he was nervous but his eyes shown some irritation. He didn't trust those eyes or him in general. "Puh-please!"

"Well, that is what we do here." he flatly commented. "What  _is_  it anyways? A letter? A parcel? A package?"

The houndour jumped. He watched him look about again before looking down at his paws. Eyes wide, he watched him nervously pulled at the twine just below his mouth to drop the package off his back. The dog then slid it over to him with a push of his snout, giving him view of what it was: a plain red box, small enough to fit within the dog's mouth.

He tilted his head at the sight. He had expected something more grandeur or suspicious. It gave him a feeling he didn't like staring at it but visually, it was obscenely…

Normal.

"Okay, so where is this little guy going?" he asked. He almost didn't want to but he had to. "Can't deliver it without knowing that."

"Uh…" the houndour gulped nervously. "It's… it's not around here…"

"Is it now? Color me surprised." he said sardonically. He knew that. There was no way he came here to get something so minor delivered within this city.

_'That would be absurd.'_  he thought to himself.  _'Then again, this city attracts the insane. Only one of maybe five "cities" in this world after all.'_

"It isn't it's…" the houndour stopped and looked down and away.

He tilted his head in suspicion, cap almost falling off but caught at the last second. As he reapplied the webbing to keep it there, he observed the hound closely. He hadn't noticed before but the houndour was shaking, if only slightly. He knew he was nervous and lying. Just  _how_  nervous was he about lying though?

"Cirown." the houndour mumbled. He grimaced.

"Excuse me? I didn't catch that." he growled. This dog had become more frustrating by the second. "Speak up."

"Ciron Town." the houndour repeated.

"Ciron Town huh? That's pretty far. Almost the next province over."

"I know… I…" the houndour paused then sighed. He slid a leg back and hunched slightly. "I need it there soon."

"Soon?" He snorted. That was an absurd thing to think. "Well, I can estimate it'll be there possibly be next Kingsday. Maybe next Ravnday if you're lucky."

The hound jumped back, shocked. "M-more than a week?"

"Ciron Town is at the border between this province and Province Karandel. For someone not in a rush, that's a walk of at least three days. And that's just walking."

"Wah-what d-do you mean?"

"You have to triple that amount of time for carts. They're slow and make frequent stops. And that nine days is if," he got closer to the houndour and narrowed his eyes at him. " ** _IF_**  the cart goes through the Dark Forest which means heading down one of the officially made paths. Only in that scenario, it's less than two weeks but most of our carts don't go that way. Too risky."

"B-but I need to get t-this over there by the e-end of this week!"

"I can't make promises it will get there quickly but it's the truth. I'm sorry. It just won't." he replied truthfully.

It was sudden but he could feel it. The houndour's expression faltered a little. His mouth twitched. His eyes shone for a moment. He could see the hound tense up as a light squeak escaped his lips.

"Is…" he wiped at his mouth with his free paw. "Is there no way to get it there faster?"

He contemplated his "customer's" request. Normally there wasn't a faster way. Usually he'd recommend a flyer but those were absurdly expensive when it came to deliveries, even small ones. Other courier services would probably give him the same answer he did but charge him more for a fake "speedy" delivery. He may be an elderly spider but he was one with honor and he refused to scam people for the service provided. Beside that, Quick Claw Couriers had a reputation to keep and it was his duty to uphold it.

In the end, he knew of only one method that could potentially help the houndour in front of him but he knew it was risky. Still, he had no choice. He didn't look like he was leaving anytime soon and seemed irritated. He'd rather live until retirement, not be burnt to ashes.

"Well, there… there is one way." he finally admitted. The houndour perked up.

"Really?"

"I could send out one of my couriers to personally deliver the package themselves. I know my couriers. They're quick and reliable. The downside is that it's risky. Who knows what would happen to them so-"

The houndour slammed his hand onto the counter, cutting the spider off.

"I don't care! As long as it fast!" he held up the box once more. "This  _needs_ to arrive in Ciron Town by the end of the week!"

"Why?" inquired the spider.

"H-huh?" the houndour stepped back, confused. "What… what do you mean why?"

"Why  _does_  it need to arrive so quickly anyways? I'm sure it'll be fine going the slow way." he replied. He noticed the houndour focus on him for only a moment. Upon matching him, the hound looked away. "Besides, it's much cheaper."

The houndour stomped on the floor, angry. "W-well, thu-they need it!"

"They?"

He saw that the question pierced right through the dark monster. He didn't know whether or not the houndour would answer him. The look on his face had turned from nervous to a faded anger. A sort of anger reserved for when one feels threatened. He assumed he might attack at any moment or threaten him and prepared to fight. He wasn't going to die laying down. Before his eyes, however, the houndour suddenly shook his head and groaned.

"It's for someone close to me!" the houndour blurted out. He stared at him curiously. Was this really his best attempt at a lie as it was pathetic at best. He could've done better. "T-they… it… it's for s-something special is all…" he trailed off as he lost momentum in his words.

"What kind of special?" he asked. The hound gulped.

"Uh… uhhh… a-a special day w-with someone… o-once in a l-lifetime..."

"Ah, I see." he said aloud. He noticed the odd houndour's pupils shrink in horror but he didn't mind it. He was getting tired of these excuses and games. If he wasn't going to make up a valid excuse, he might as well lend a hand.  _Anything to make him go away._  he thought.

"S-see what…?" the odd houndour mumbled.

"Why didn't you say it was bridal gift?" he clarified. "It'd all make sense then."

"Oh… umm…" the houndour sighed in relief. He had to hold back a chuckle at his relief. He needed the person he was  _lying to_ , to help him with his  _lie_. Pathetic. "I was really busy today and well… I forgot to mail this for my cousin's wedding."

"Oh well that can't do. I'll certainly have this little guy on the way by tomorrow, don't you worry. It'll cost extra of course but I can send it to be hand-delivered by one of my couriers. I give an estimate of Moonsday for arrival."

"Only three days!?" he nodded with a clack of his fangs. "Oh, thank you so much!" yelped the houndour. He offered up his right forelimb to the hound, who shook it vigorously when offered. "I can't tell you how much this means to me!"

"It's nothing but the service of us here at Quick Claw Couriers. No need to thank me or my workers." he sighed and pulled out a form.  _I hate this part._  He quickly jotted a few things down and held it up to the houndour. "Now, I ask you to simply fill this out."

The houndour gingerly took the form in his paws and stared at it for a moment. He watched his red eyes shift from the top to the bottom of the form where he knew the hound would look up and question him. Sure enough, he did, giving the him a queried look.

"Three-hundred twenty draga?"

He nodded. "Yes, well…" he feigned a nervous laugh, if only to trick the dog into thinking he was sincere. "It's because of the express rate plus a few fees and the service fee for having to send one of my couriers  _across the province_. I'm going to have to make sure they have money to spend- unless you want them to sleep under the stars?"

"Oh, nononnono!" he exclaimed. The hound bent down and tugged at his foot wrapping. He pulled out a few coins from within and held them up. "Here! Keep the change!"

"Hmm." the spider took the coins and examined them. Each one was one-hundred draga coin. Six in total. "Are you sure? There's a good four-hundred extra here."

"I'm sure! Consider it a thank you!" the houndour said with a smile. The way he smiled made him suspicious but he said nothing. No reason to aggravate an odd character like that.

As he put away the money, the houndour finished up the form and handed it back to the old spider.

"Thanks again! You can't  _tell_  how relieved I am you're doing this!" said the houndour.

"No need to thank me. Just doing what we do here best at Quick Claw Couriers."

"Oh please! You deserve much for this!" his words made him cringe. Something in them felt wrong despite how innocent it sounded. The houndour began to leave, bowing as he did. "A nice night to you sir!"

"And to you as well. Stay safe!"

The sound of simple click was all the postmaster needed for him to let out a breath he didn't even know how he was holding it, being a spider and all. Even then, he couldn't shake off the feeling of this encounter and the package. Just a glance at the left behind package, even when wrapped in a cherry red paper, gave him a vibe of something. Something he didn't like.

Something  _wrong_.

"What did I get myself into?" he gently spun a cradle to rest the package in- he dared not touch it himself. "If only I'd finish my work earlier…"

Despite knowing well not to damage goods, he cared less about this one and drug it along the hardwood floor; all the way back to the sorting room. He stopped right next to the desk, still piled with mail with much on his mind. All of it surrounding the odd houndour and the package he brought in.

_A strange package. An odd character. Clearly didn't know more than where this thing was going. Had no excuses. Came almost at midnight._

He cursed quietly. He hated situations like this.  _Whoever was forcing him to shove this onto me was smart: they sent a fire-breather that can defeat any web I spin and kill me if I didn't comply. Sent him in at night when no one was around- too sudden for me to report it to anyone higher. Even dressed up the package so it looked inconspicuous._

The entire scenario made him shake. It made him growl. It made him angry. He had been used. Whatever was being sent, was not in someone's best interests. Certainly not in the interest of the authorities.

"I can't just send it with any of them…" he admitted to himself. There was no way he could just send it with  _any_ courier. "They all have lives to live and sending them away into danger…"

He turned and looked at the sacks along the wall. He contemplated each name that sat square above each one. Every name he thought of, he thought of excuse after excuse of why they shouldn't deliver it until he got the last name. The one that still had no bag under it.

"Kodi…" he said with a sigh.

He had little excuses for her. While she was an excellent, hard-working girl in all regards; she was, in all accounts from everyone who worked here, a loner. She lived with her pack, yes, but had no mate, which meant no kittens to her name, no friends, and struck up little talk with the other couriers. All the other couriers had a range of family and friends and he shuddered at the thought of some of them disappearing. A few had litters to support and others had more than that. One even had grandkits.

It was a hard choice to make but he had to make one in the end.

"I'm sorry Kodi…"

He walked away with the strange package in tow to the rest of the unorganized mail. He quickly set to work organizing Kodi's deliveries, package in mind.

"I hope my sake and hers, this will not be something I regret."

With a flick of a pen and a sigh, he added the suspicious package it to her register.

 

* * *

 

The houndour ran down the street with a panicked look on his face. Occasionally, he glanced behind him. No matter where he looked, he always saw the same in the corner of his vision. A pair of eyes. Always following him. Always looking at him.

He turned into an alley and banged straight into a crate. Standing up, a dark figure greeted him a head taller than him. Their eyes shone red, like the ones from before. A smirk appeared, baring all their teeth in their sharp glory for the hound to see.

"Why  _are_  you running? You're not leaving the area without seeing me are you?" a snicker tore into the houndour's hearing. "Or… are you trying desperately to meet someone you always wanted to?"

"N-no… no…" he said. He whimpered a little as he stepped back. "P-please I just…"

The figure stomped down on his left foreleg. It took incredible strength not to scream in pain as they did. The figure snickered once more as they lifted their foot of his leg.

"Stop trying to run you fool. The agreement made is absolute. You'll see them when allowed." the figure's smile dropped, and they looked away. "But that's not up to me to decide. That's up to  _him_."

"Mmm…" he moaned in defeat. He knew he had no power or say. Not anymore and not for some time.

"You know what else is up to him?" the figure then asked. He looked up to see their red eyes glaring at him. "Whether we stay or go."

He stared up with wide-eyes. The figure in front of him held no smile, no laughter, and no signs of arrogance. Just a grimace and a somewhat saddened look. He knew. They knew. Both knew the same thing. It was a sobering thought.

"I… I don't  _want_  to be sent away…" tears formed in his eyes and his clung to the ground. "I don't want to go…"

"Mmm…" the figure walked past him and looked down the street. "Nor do I."

"I'm not in trouble am I…?"

"No…" the figure looked back at the sobbing houndour. The ground under him was wet from his tears. They couldn't help but feel sympathetic for the hound. "You're a lucky one- for now, at least. He shouldn't be that angry anyways. You did your part." they admitted.

"I did, didn't I?" he said as he stood up. He wiped a tear away as he forced a smile. "Is it enough?"

"I'd say no." the figure bluntly pointed out. "It's best you go back to  _him_  and try to kiss his ass as much as you can. Get on his good side. Become a favorite of his."

The houndour nodded and quietly slipped away, leaving them alone in the alley. The figure rested against a wall, deep in thought.

 

* * *

 

A minute after he left, the figure sighed. The thoughts roamed but they decided it was best to push them away for now. With a shake of their head, they walked further in. Upon seeing a perfect stack of boxes, they jumped up to the rooftops. They looked out at the city before them and smiled.

It was large and sprawling, rising and falling with the hills the buildings were haphazardly built on. Buildings of all sorts of shapes and sizes nestled up to one another up to the walls in the distance. Atop the taller hills were buildings of much more grandeur. The tallest hill held a castle instead of a manor- one that they intently focused on for a moment.

_'A sign of the changing times.'_ they thought.  _'Or really, a sign of this land's progress. Who knew conquest would lead to all this?'_

They went back to glancing at the city around them, taking in the soft orange glow of the fire-stone lit street lamps aloft every street. The city was an affront to how towns used to be built: small, open, and relaxed. She missed those days but they were ending. Cities rose above towns as guilds becoming more than just for exploration and as new goods began to be traded.

Even then, they loved the city. The entire idea of it was amazing. It had much of what they loved to see these days. People. Architecture. Food. Comfort.

Light.

"This city… such lovely light." escaped as a whisper from their mouth. The figure pulled at a cloth around their neck and covered their mouth with it. Doing so freed a small yellow gem-like marking just below her neck to the night air. At the same time, one could easily see a lack of an apple in her throat. "If I could, I'd stand here for as long as I can..."

Suddenly, she felt a pull. A call. She sighed and took a deep breath, taking in as much the city air as she could before letting out slowly, enjoying the smells. She muttered  _"Nakari…"_  before disappearing into the shadows of the alley below.


	2. Grip Claw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The City of Many Bells awakens to a new day. With it, it's people, the change of money, deliverance of goods- society itself- turns with the light.  
> For some, it stops turning as they lay rest forever, never to arise once again.  
> For others, the turning of time marks a day of work- for some, though,  
> It is more than that.

_Chapter 1_

* * *

A light breeze softly flitted through the window, pushing the curtain enough to allow copious sunlight into the room. Under the window sat a pile of straw where a light gray-blue sneasel with dark-gray markings slept. Her fur, rough and unkempt as it was, had been covered with the straw during her sleep. Nearby laid a wool blanket, likely having come off during the night.

As the daylight passed, time struck unto the hour. All over the city, bells tolled for the first time of the day, as they all did for every morning, signifying that it was seven o'clock. The bells rang seven times, with short pauses in between.

_Gong…Gong…Gong…Gong…Gong…Gong…Gong…_

Through it all, the sneasel only mewled softly a few times. She was too engrossed in her dreams for the bells to bother her. The breeze from the open window did just as much, with the added effect of blowing some her bed away. Slowly, her head went up. An open paw came to her face, the white, semi-transparent claws fully extended. She scratched her face then rested her head back on the straw with a soft murmur.

" _KODI! PIKKA AKU!"_

The sneasel shot up from the straw with a shout, "I'M UP, I'M UP!" She looked around in alarm before realizing she was alone- the yell had come from downstairs. She sighed, "And I was having a good dream too…"

Kodi stood up and glanced at a nearby mirror. She recoiled in horror to see her gracious fur marred by straw all over. She picked at a piece above her right eye and glared at it in contempt.

"Ugh…straw…"

She sighed again. There was little she could do beside taking a bath or quickly brushing it all out of her fur. Since a bath took a long time for a sneasel like her- she recalled it being a two-hour exercise for much of her pack, herself included- brushing her fur was the only option. An option she despised.

"Come here, vile piece of crap." she grabbed the brush, thick with stiff brown hairs, off her dresser. She stared at it as she held it.

 _I really don't want to do this today. It grabs at my fur, hell my undercoat, and it always feels like it's about to rip an entire patch out._  She let out a sigh. She hated needing money.  _Ugh, but I got to go to work soon. It's either that or be fired and be up a creek once more in my life…_

She quickly set about brushing off the straw. While she did that, she did her best to kick the tiny fragments of her bed back into it's proper place. Partway through, she opened a drawer of her dresser and pulled out a flat cap, not unlike the one the Postmaster had, and set it on top. After that, she pulled out two rolls of stained brown cloth, both heavily worn, and set them next to the cap. She continued to brush in a mix of through and fast. Every so often, she checked in the mirror before groaning in anger.

"Argh! This is too slow! I don't time for this!"

She thought hard and fast. A solution came to her in the form of a breeze through the open slate of her window. She smirked before she opened her mouth and let out a stream of frigid air against one of the walls. It was strong enough to move the air at a good speed but not cold enough to freeze anything- a delicate balance. Kodi let the stream of frigid air pass through her fur, blowing much of the remaining straw off. Whatever was left, she personally plucked herself. Another check in the mirror gave her a satisfying view.

"Perfect! I look great!" she exclaimed. Even then, she felt something was off, "Wait..."

Her eyes moved to where her left ear was. Missing was the feather that usually sat in front of it.

"Oh yeah... need to put those on..."

Her salmon-colored her eyes scanned the room around her. She groaned once more, ignoring the straw all over. She could clean that as she left. What mattered was that she was missing something important. Her feathers. "Aw come on… where are they?"

She rushed about her bedroom, poking through all her furniture in search of something. She cried a muffled "Ah-hah!" as she poked her snout under the dresser. She reached in and pulled out a plain black messenger bag with the words  _Quick Claw Couriers_  sewed on in red.

"How tired was I two days ago? Did I really just throw you randomly like that?" she asked the bag.

The silence that came back was deafening enough. She chuckled nervously before slinging it around her shoulder.

"Right…right Kodi… You don't want people to think you're nuts, so you ask your bag questions. I'm totally sane." a sigh escaped. She found her bag but not her feathers. "Where in the name of the underworld are my feathers?"

She threw open every drawer and cubby she could. None held the red items. She searched through the straw and found nothing to same effect. Finally, she decided to open up her bag and check inside. A nervous giggle came out as she pulled out four feathers, one as large as her hand and the other three as long as her lower arm.

"Why did I put you guys in there?" she asked herself. A shake of the head and a scoff threw the questions away. She had no time to play detective with herself.

She slipped the feathers into notches made when she was young, keeping them tightly in place. Next, taking the long strips of brown cloth, she wrapped them around her feet and lower legs. She made sure it stayed in place with a subtle weaving pattern, pulling on it to check. Once satisfied that it wasn't going to come undone, she put the flat cap on her, minding her ears and feather, and checked herself in the mirror once more.

Her fur was still rough around the edges thanks to the icy wind but didn't care. She liked the rough and tough look, never mind the fact she stunk at fighting. She adjusted the dark blue flat-cap on top and wiped the emblem to a shine.

"Perfect. I'm ready to go." she took a step then stopped. "Whoops, forgot something."

She opened one of the drawers of the dresser and pulled out a gray scarf. She wrapped it around her neck, putting it in a loose knot that ended the scarf right over her chest.

" _Now_ , I'm ready."

She turned away from the mirror to spy the straw that was her bed. The chilling breeze from before had strewn it all about as she had observed before. Sagging in defeat, she pushed the stray straw with her feet back into the pile then covered it all with her wool blanket.

"There, all tidy." she locked the window shut and turned around, "'Bout as spotless as I can make it."

" _KUURA!"_

Kodi jumped back into her bed. She wasn't expecting to be called down anytime soon.

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" she yelled back. She stood up and dusted off the straw then groaned as she rushed to clean up the mess once more. "Should'a bought a frame…"

" _TURU_ _KUURA AIDON!"_

The second yell made her jump once more. This time, she was ready, and hooked onto an overhead beam. She gave a sigh of relief and dropped down to the floor. No straw everywhere. A smile came and went as she sprinted out the room.

"I'm coming down! I said that already!"

She ran down the hall before turning and running down the stairwell at the end. She jumped from the middle landing and landed on the floor with a pose and the soft click of her claws.

"Perfect as always." she said to herself.

Walking around the corner and into the foyer, she was greeted with the sight of a weavile busy dusting off as much furniture as she could. Upon walking into the foyer, the weasel-like cat turned her attention to Kodi.

"Ah, kuura." the weavile turned and pointed the duster at her, "I made breakfast for you." the weavile then pointed down the hall to her left, "Baked oran berry bread and a torchic egg. Heva aamoska, nu?"

"Of course, it's good ruumu, it's made by you." her mother sparkled at the compliment. It made her feel warm inside to see her mother happy.

"Tarina." she said in thanks. Her mother came over and rubbed the top of her head, making Kodi mewl. "Ah, you're still my little kitten."

"Stop it ma... please...?" she begged. In truth, she didn't want it to stop but she had things to do. A long day of work was ahead.

"Alright then. Go on and eat." her mother said.

Kodi nodded to her then made her way down the hall but stopped right as she was about to enter the next room. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, the words stuck to her tongue. She's wanted to say this for awhile but couldn't find the strength or fortitude to. Today, she made sure that this was a different story. Taking a deep breath, she got her words out past her mind, and out the mouth, "Y-you know, you...you don't have to make me breakfast every day. I know I'm being a bother living here and all but... but..."

She stopped. She wanted to continue but her tongue tied itself on her feelings; to say she was a responsible adult that could go buy and hunt all the food she needs. It wasn't like she couldn't. The one thing stopping her was the look on her mother's face. It was one of worry. Worry for  _her_. It made her feel immense guilt just looking into her mother's bright red eyes.

"Are you sure Kodi?" her mother asked. She passed her paw through her crown of feathers. One of them poised to fall out but she gently shoved it back in. "You always leave without eating. I mean, I can always do with another round of breakfast. It's just that I'm concerned for you is all. With the way you randomly came back to us over a year ago, you had us all worried sick."

"I'm… uhh… I…well yeah. I did come back from… stuff but err…" she put a paw to her face, blocking her face from her mother. Her mother snickered. She went over to her embarrassed daughter and embraced her. "R-ruumu?"

"Kodi, no matter what, you're my kuura and your kuura ikiru-ku. We just want you to be safe."

"Mmm…" Kodi sagged in defeat. Her mother was right. In the past, she had worried her family and now that she was back among them, it made sense they'd try to keep her close. "Right I'll eat. Thanks again mom."

"Anything for you Kodi." her mother answered as she walked into the kitchen.

* * *

After a lightning fast breakfast, no thanks to the time limit she had, Kodi made her way down the street with finesse. It was crowded with monsters going about their day, many of whom were ducking in and out of businesses of all types. Carts were being led along the center of the cobblestone street, pulled by tame tauros, bouffalant, and mudsdale. Most of them were owned by the large guilds that held up the city and the marks painted onto the wooden carts and burnt into the tamed monsters were a reminder of that.

Kodi snickered. Her thoughts revolved around the idea of the guilds and their pull. A massive part of the city revolved around them, even as society had evolved.  _So many monsters working in this city- mostly for the guilds._  She paused and shook her head. _If they didn't work for a guild, then a bank. If not a bank, then a tavern. If not a tavern, then for the streets instead._

The thought made her snicker as she ducked past a pair of tauros pulling a cart filled with crates. She spied the riders at the front, a pair of sneasel not unlike her. She spied their uniforms and noted a crown insignia on their gray coats.

_If not any of that, then for the King. And if not any of those, either you're a poor as shit farmer, poor and homeless, drunk and homeless, or a bandit._

At a crossroad with another avenue, a pair of mudsdale, ridden by a toxicroak and a sneasel, walked right through with no care for any pedestrians. The crowd moved from their way as fast as they could. Her eyes couldn't help but admire their spotless black and gray uniforms, same as the two sneasel from before. The only thing that she saw that was different were their helms. Made of metal, they were painted mostly white and black, with some purple in the form of the royal insignia. They stood out and she couldn't help but stare as they went past.

 _Or you could be one of those guys._  She scoffed. The mere idea of her being a soldier or a King's Guard was rather laughable. She was not the best fighter. She was great at running, sneaking, and, admittedly, stealing, but not fighting.  _I'd be a horrible soldier but it's so tempting to try sometimes. Good pay, good food, good uniforms, all the luxuries I could ask for…_

"Hey kit, move your ass! We got shit to deliver!" yelled a teamster.

Kodi jumped. The yell shook her from her thoughts. She shot out a quick apology and continued along, minding any crossing traffic from the other main street.

She continued to observe the area as she walked along. It was all familiar to her now. She's been walking the same way to work for a long time now

Finally, she got to the street she needed and turned the corner. In front of her was another winding street, but, one more relaxed than the avenue before she came from. The street was lined with businesses of all sorts. One was a cafe, another a tavern, and one was a small market for the workers of the area to bring home groceries when they were done for the day. Some stores specialized in certain crafts- crafts that were in rather high demand. She had been shocked into a stupor when she saw how expensive some of the items for sale were when she first came to this part of the city.  _Gods how I wish I could own one of these stores. I'd be set for life._

Two of the said stories were crafters that made 'wonder' orbs, though she didn't know what was so wonderful about them. The one across from both stocked up on gummis of all kinds. Those were said to give one a boost to their powers and their magicks if one could afford the  _really_  good ones.

_The prices. Always the prices._

She glanced at the prices in the window a she walked by. They were far beyond her budget-almost a month's worth for the cheapest ones. A chime went off behind and she turned to see two members of a local guild called the  _Rail Riders_. She knew they specialized in the dungeon known as the Rail Canyon to the north of the city. She saw them walk away with a bag stuffed with gummis'. She scowled.

It was hard enough to keep herself from grumbling a string of curses at the sight. She was lucky they didn't notice her scowling- even if with good reason to.

Any member of a guild can just waltz in, do their business, and walk out as if they hadn't just spent pay worth more than most monsters made in a  _year_.

Monsters like her.

 _But I'm not built to go in those dungeons they blast through. I'd be skewered on the first floor._  she thought to herself,  _Besides, I like my job. And anyways, riimu makes enough that what I make is worthless. So, no big deal._

She blinked a few times and then sighed.

_Except when I want something for myself._

Continuing her walk, she weaved around a straggling group of guild mon' outside one of three clothiers in sitting in a row, each one specializing in a different type of accessory such as scarves, bands, and caps. They were arguing about scarves from what she heard but paid no mind- her scarf was the best after all.

She stopped at the last storefront before the post office. This one, aptly named  _Loo's Loops_ , stocked looplets of all kinds, either hand crafted or found in the few remaining dungeons in the area.

Kodi stopped and peered in the window at the display for public view. They were all a fair premium compared to normal one's she's seen around the area but the shop itself heralded that all looplet's sold were rare. Well, most of them. She knew he had plenty of common looplet's but he had plenty of rare one's too.

At least, she hoped they were. She had to admit, it'd be heck of a bold-faced scam.

Her eyes tracked over to a blue painted looplet with golden edges and five empty notches for power emeralds, or as they're more affectionately known as, emeras.

"Sky Looplet, you will be mine. Just a few more weeks, then I'd be the fastest in the pack." she whispered.

A bell chimed beside her. She looked over to see a frogadier walk out. She waved to him, and he returned in kind. He walked to her side and put a hand on his hip. She noticed that in his other hand was a piece of parchment.

"Good morning Kodi." he greeted. He walked over to her and nodded at the looplet before her, "Eyeing that looplet again?"

"Yeah. I'll get it eventually. You said you had at least three so I'm not worried."

"Hah," he shook his head, "it's actually two now. Someone bought one last night before closing."

"Eh, what can I do? Steal'em before they get sold out? I'm not in the mood to spend the next five or so years in a mine collared and chained." she said.

The frog laughed, this time with heart instead of the subtle poking upon greeting her. Kodi smiled and joined in. The two eventually stopped, with the frog holding the poster up at her.

"Ah, don't worry Kodi. As you said, you'll get it eventually." he began to put up the paper in his hand on the window. She hummed softly as he did, curious. He took notice and glanced at her, "Wondering what I'm doing, eh?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"Well, old Loo is trying to get rid of some of the lackluster stock. None of them guildies are buying'em because they're the ones getting rid of them, so I'm stuck with a lot of random looplet's."

The frog finished pasting the paper upon the window, using his saliva as a paste. Kodi shivered at the sight but kept her mouth clamped. She knew it was for the best not to comment.

Once he stepped away, her attention was drawn from his tongue to the poster. Upon seeing the words written out, her eyes sparkled.

"Wow, one-fifty draga for the whole lot?" she asked, amazed.

"Not the whole lot Kodi, just the lesser looplet's. This includes Speed Looplet's if you're interested. Should tide ya' over till you can afford the Sky Looplet."

"I'll think about it. Maybe after work." said Kodi.

Loo nodded, "It'll be waiting for ya' then. Hope you have a good day Kodi… and stay safe."

"Eh? What?"

Loo looked up at the sky. She did as well but spotted nothing wrong. It was as blue as it always was, with a few clouds passing overhead to give some precious cover from the harsh sunlight.

"Things have been getting bad all around." he looked to her. She looked at him in kind. His eyes were glazed with worry. "I fear for our safety."

"What?" she whispered, confused, "What do you by things are getting bad?"

"I think… You'll find out eventually."

His words raised more questions for her to ask. Before she could ask any of these questions, Loo had disappeared into the store.

"Why do people have to act so suspicious about things…" she muttered as she walked over to the post office and entered.

* * *

Inside the post office's lobby, it abuzz with patrons waiting in line to speak with a clerk. The only clerk. Being mid-morning, she was stunned to only a single sneasel on duty as the clerk and immediately felt bad for him, but only for a moment. It used to be her job once upon a time.

But it isn't her problem to care about it now.

"Hey Lev." she said as she walked past him.

The shorter sneasel only glanced at her before turning back to address the patron in front of him. Kodi laughed as she went deeper into the post office, passing workers sorting the incoming mail from cart deliveries as she went.

As she went by, it caught her off guard just how much mail there was today. This is the first day of her workweek, having had the previous two days off, and there so much mail that it was simply ridiculous- there had to be several days' worth in piles all around the sorting room! Adding to that, the stacks of mail were much taller than her and likely weighed more than even that. She estimated it might be even taller than a short bisharp and a short bisharp was much,  _much_  taller than the average sneasel.

She walked around of the large piles of mail into a darkened side hallway. At the end was a door with  _Postmaster_  etched in white. She knocked twice and said, "Hey boss, it's Kodi."

Behind the mahogany was the sound of ruffling paper and the dropping of boxes.

"One second Kodi, hold on..."

She sighed and waited against the wall. It was the same every day she came in. He was always busy organizing the outgoing deliveries room whenever she came by to pick up her deliveries. He knew she was coming yet never left the door unlocked. It annoyed her to no end.  _Sometimes, I wonder if he's being deliberately obtuse._

A click pierced the air. A slow creak sounded as the door swung out.

She spied her old boss disappear from behind the large wooden desk dominating the office. The small piles of mail on top indicated he was busy as she always saw him.

"Come in Kodi. You're just in time." he called out. The cat shrugged then let out a soft trill. She never understood how he stayed so cheery- or at least the facade of it.

"Umm yeah…" she walked inside and shut the door behind her, "Good morning boss. Just here to retrieve my stuff like always."

Like every working day before, it was just a routine: collect today's mail, deliver whatever they may be where it needs to go, return with packages and mail meant to be sent to other towns, then go home. And like every day before hand, to collect the mail, that meant meeting the Postmaster.

"Well, it is your job isn't it?" he mockingly said. She scoffed at the jab.

"Well you have your job, but you never finish do you?" she said, jabbing right back.

The old ariados laughed. She smiled. At the end of the day, he could at least take jokes and dish them out as well- unless it was late night from what she heard.  _Joke then and you'll be out a uniform apparently._

"You sneasel are always sharp-tongued. Must be you lot are bureaucrats and business-owners. Quick an' mean, always in it for a coin, but loyal to a tee."

"It's the motto of our people." she said in jest. It really wasn't but at the same time, it kind of  _was_ , "Right, boss. Anything new I should know today?"

"It's sunny. It's clear. It's the middle of the week." he said flatly.

"Kingsday." she said aloud.

"The city is busy as usual. The King is off with the Queen on Kithers Isle and won't be back until Sunsday."

"How scandalous. The King is with his wife." she deadpanned.

She heard the old ariados scoff. Did he know something about that she didn't? She swore she could hear him snickering before he kept on talking.

"There's a scandal between the St. John's Guild and the Lake Veruna Guild. Something about price fixing."

"Hmph… maybe that's why goods from those two towns are so expensive."

"Finally, I heard there was an attack early this morning."

"In a city  _filled_  with dark-walkers like me? Shocker."

"Well yes, normally the victim is bruised, missing a few teeth, and more than a few coins but… but this one was missing  _his_   _eyes, lungs, and his feathers_."

"W-wait…" this caught her off-guard. A sneasel was killed. This went from rather pointless to important to her. "It was a sneasel?"

"Yes. Poor lad didn't even stand a chance. Whoever attacked him made sure he wasn't going to fight back. Broke his arms and legs before tearing him apart." Kodi couldn't hold back her gasp. To break a sneasel's arms and legs was to destroy everything about them. Their strength lay in their arms and legs- the ability to run and slash. Take those away and you have nothing but a defenseless cat. Her boss ignored her gasp and horrified look, "The only identifying parts left were his claws and those markings of yours. He was all mangled up otherwise."

"And… you know this why?" she timidly asked. This kind of attack is something she only heard of once when she was about the world and that was a cult of magickers who stole away the horns of a few houndoom for some potion they were brewing. It was beyond brutal from what she heard; this sounded no different. "I mean, where could you have heard this from? It's only nine in the morning…"

For once, she heard him stop shuffling papers. She clearly heard him set them down and watched peek out from behind the desk.

"It happened at the corner of my street." he let out a despondent sigh. She could see a weary look in his eyes. His cheeriness was nothing but a façade, not that she didn't know that, but she didn't know how  _hurt_  he was. "Had to walk past on the way here. Managed to catch a glimpse. I've haven't ever seen something like that before. Only heard it from my da's da when the war was raging."

She was stunned and confused. The King's Guard were more than capable at preventing this sort of thing. A perk of dealing with a majority populace known for their tricks. Yet somehow, they couldn't have stopped such a brutal attack?

"Don't you live in one of the better patrolled parts of the city?"

"That's the thing. I know there were patrollers at the time, but he still died. Almost as if whoever did it, knew when to strike. When the guard would be out of sight."

"Right sir… that's… that's…" she was at a loss for words. This conversation had gone a way she hadn't expected. Was he warning her of something? Before she could find her voice, the Postmaster finished for her.

"Concerning? It should be, but a bright young kid like you would know how to avoid death like that. Let me be worried about a potential serial killer on the loose in my area." he went back behind the desk. Not too long after, she heard the ever-present sound of shuffling papers. "You Kodi on the other hand, have a day's work ahead of you. You should get going."

"Umm… right boss."

Kodi strolled over to the sacks lining the back wall. There were fifteen in total. Fifteen couriers. Fourteen just like her. The other sacks were partially empty. It was standard for them to make several trips; there was simply no way to deliver all that mail in one go unless one were a dragonite. But, the mere thought of such happening made her laugh in anger. They were usually in the army or nobles. Far above a job such as delivering mail.

With a sigh, she untied the twine holding the sack closed and pulled it open. She began to check over the mail registry attached, more a stack of sheets tied together at the corner with twine, when she heard the Postmaster walk up to her.

"Actually Kodi, before you began, I have to talk to you about something."

She turned to see him standing before her. His eyes were awash with worry and occasionally, they glanced at the registry in her hand.

"Umm… alright boss. What is it?"

"The last item on your registry. I want you to look it over and please do not overact. I do not want a scene."

She shrugged.  _Okay. This day is just strange all around already._

She flipped over to the last page and glanced it over.  _Nothing wrong so far… just standard fare and…_  She squinted. It couldn't be. She had to be seeing things. She rubbed her eyes but the words did not go away.  _This is just cruel_.

"Boss?" she glanced up at the ariados and gave him the harshest look she could muster, "A delivery to Ciron Town? That's-"

"At least three days away? I know." he admitted.

She was stunned once more. She couldn't believe this was happening to her. "And… why is it in my registry? Isn't that kind of thing we have carts for?"

"Well yes, normally it is but…" he sighed. She couldn't help but frown as she read it over once more. "This is a special request."

"Oh, those are never good."

"I concur, if only because to get to Ciron Town quickly, you'd have to go through the Dark Forest which is crawling with dangerous cults, bandits, crazy feral beast, and even a couple known dungeons. Dangerous ones at that."

"Peachy stuff." she deadpanned.  _Is the god of life throwing all she can at me because it certainly feels like it._

Her boss walked over to his desk while she thought over the idea. Going to Ciron Town was not a simple undertaking. She was being asked to journey across the province, a three-day's walk at worst, just deliver one item. In the meanwhile, she still had to  _come back_  all the same.

 _This all sounds like a horrible deal. Potentially get killed or worse for some stupid delivery- not even multiple ones. Just_ _ **one**_ _delivery."_ The thoguth of all this being over one simple delivery stuck with her more than anything else. It then dwelled on her that there may be benefits for all this.  _Maybe… there's something in it for me or he wouldn't be asking me. Does he know?_

"Boss, I kinda don't want to ask…" she said. She heard a gruff sigh before she finished.

"It's fine. I feel like I already know what'll you'll be asking."

"Oh…weeelllll… Am I going to get paid extra for this? I mean, how am I going to afford food and room for the night?"

 _I most certainly will_ _**not** _ _board and I'll just hunt for some food. That's extra money for me and I need it- oh, do I need it.  
_

"Oh, most certainly. On top of normal pay and extended pay for each workday, you're getting hazard pay as well as a stipend for overnight rest and one meal per day. And yes Kodi, you get to keep the money you don't use."

Internally, Kodi jumped for joy. A smile appeared on her face. She had a good reason to go on this delivery now. With all the pay she's about to receive, she'll likely earn more than what she would in two months of work.  _And that's nothing to sneeze at…_

She flipped the registry back to its front page and grimaced. She had forgotten about the rest of the mail for today.  _And what of tomorrow and the day after?_

"Another question, boss. What about the rest of my deliveries?" she paused and waited for answer before realizing how odd the question sounded. She shook her head and added, "Uhh… I-I mean, today's and the next two days as well."

"We'll manage with fourteen couriers. It's not like we're behind by a week and half already. Really, it can't get any better or worse." he chuckled. Kodi giggled as well. It was a good joke. A rarity from her boss. "For today at least, I want you to deliver everything then, after we close shop at eight. I'll see you off. Gives you time to get ready for the trip and say goodbye to… whoever you can."

"Got it boss. I'll get right to it. Count on me." she said as she walked back over to the sack of mail. She began digging through it, pulling off letters and packages from the registry in an order that made sense geographically as she stuffed them in her bag. She read each one off before marking it down as in route. "Ten Market Square… One-five July Street… Seven-seven-two Hocker Street…"

A soft groan escaped her. The amount of mail to deliver today was enormous. Not even including what lay beyond today, she was going to be sore all week.

_I really hope I can get massage in Ciron Town or on the way at least..._


End file.
